Product Description

Nearly half of adults today are unmarried yet most churches emphasize marriage and family, leaving many Christian singles feeling marginalized or alienated. Though they look to Jesus and Paul as role models, many suspect they would be more acceptable to the church if they settled down and got married. Hsu challenges this view. Moving beyond pat answers, Hsu proposes that singleness and marriage are both opportunities in which to follow Jesus. Singles at the Crossroads points the way to a Christian community where all members are valued, Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female, married and single.

Publisher's Description

One of the 1998 Academy of Parish Clergy Top Ten Books of the Year! Nearly half of adults today are unmarried. But most churches emphasize marriage and family, leaving many Christian singles feeling marginalized or alienated. Though they look to Jesus and Paul as role models, many suspect they would be more acceptable to the church--and God--if they settled down and got married. Albert Hsu challenges this view. Christian singles don't need tips on finding a mate or advice on suffering through the single life. What they need is a truly Christian understanding of singleness--a biblically grounded, theologically informed perspective that honors singleness equally with marriage and family. Moving beyond pat answers, Hsu

debunks the myth of the "gift of singleness"

chronicles how the church has overemphasized both singleness and marriage

works through discerning God's will as a single Christian

explains why searching for the right marriage partner can be misguided--even unbiblical

grapples with loneliness, aloneness and community

warns of common mistakes regarding dating, love and sex

Hsu draws insight from an interview with John Stott as well as from the stories of other Christian students and professionals. Ultimately, singleness is not a problem to be solved by marriage, he says; rather, like marriage, it is an opportunity in which to follow Jesus. Singles at the Crossroads points the way to a Christian community where all members are valued, Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female, married and single.

Author Bio

Albert Y. Hsu (pronounced "shee") is senior editor for IVP Books at InterVarsity Press, where he acquires and develops books in such areas as culture, discipleship, church, ministry and mission. He is also a PhD student in educational studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. Al is the author of and He has been a writer and columnist for and served as senior warden on the vestry of Church of the Savior in Wheaton, Illinois. He and his wife, Ellen, have two sons and live in the western suburbs of Chicago.

Being a single male isn't easy especially if you are happy being single in the Christian world. I found this book and read it. This book helps define what and how to approach your choice. Its more like a study on being single in the Christian community. It gives a new refreshing definition of the "gift of singleness". Lets admit it, singles arent really the "norm" for the church. This will help you in how to look at yourself and others.